Our readers say: "An appeal to preserve Redlands"

The people of Redlands have taken a strong stand for Redlands, and they come from every corner of the community. During the public comment period before the June 7 closed sessions of the City Council and Redevelopment Agency, people of every political stripe and color, every generation, retired people and business people and school students came forward to implore the City Council to preserve the MOD (Mutual Orange Distributors) packing house from demolition.

On the surface, it appears all those people who addressed the City Council members were appealing for the preservation of a century-old building, and not a very good-looking one, at that.

In reality, they were appealing for the preservation of Redlands through this one unlikely building, once the bustling symbol of Redlands' lucrative citrus industry, now a worn but solid symbol of the long struggle between Redlands' residents and outsider interests.

Redlanders never argued against an economically thriving downtown core; with eloquent letters, prepared statements and impromptu comments, they argued that the MOD packing house, once scrubbed and refreshed, can become the venue for that economic engine, as council likes to call it.

George Krikorian has owned all the land in that area, from the railroad tracks on the north to his theater complex on the south, from Eureka Street to Orange Street - including the historic Santa Fe depot building - for more than 10 years, and he has yet to do anything with that site. What makes the City Council/Redevelopment Agency think he will do anything with it now? He has open land already; why doesn't he use that space for the new building for the tenant he maintains he has lined up?

Redlanders should resent the patronizing comments from Mr. Peter Lehman, manager of the Krikorian Theaters and George Krikorian's representative, as he spoke of how much more valuable the profits generated by the theaters are than the cultural heritage of the community, implying that George Krikorian is Redlands' benefactor. Hopefully, he will not become Redlands' owner, but that's in the hands of the City Council.

Congratulations to the Redlanders of all generations who came to tell the City Council what we want for our community. Voting once every two years, apparently, is not enough to affirm our wishes; we must be vigilant and determined that this is our town, not Krikorian's.